The Improbable Computer (Paperback or Softback)

This book first invites readers on a journey into the world of quantum mechanics, where surprising and often counterintuitive phenomena occur. From the discovery of indeterminacy — where probability replaces certainty — to the phenomenon of entanglement and the profound nature of quantum correlations, the book reveals how quantum physics reshapes our understanding of the universe. Building on this foundation, the book explores the logic and extraordinary potential of quantum computation. Readers will learn how quantum parallelism enables computation on an unprecedented scale, and how powerful quantum algorithms promise to revolutionize our world. The narrative then moves on to cutting-edge applications of quantum technologies, including secure quantum communication and ultra-sensitive quantum sensors poised to transform medicine, navigation, and beyond. Concluding with an outlook, the book addresses both the challenges and promises facing emerging quantum technologies. It highlights ongoing efforts to overcome technical obstacles while envisioning the transformative impact these technologies may have on science, industry, and everyday life.

Giuliano Benenti is a Full Professor of Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Insubria, Como, where he served as Coordinator of the PhD program in Physics and Astrophysics and Director of the Advanced Course in "Quantum Technologies." He teaches Quantum Physics and Quantum Information Theory, as well as specialized courses for PhD students on "Quantum Technologies" and "Energetics in the Quantum Regime." He obtained his degree in Physics from the University of Pavia in 1993 and his PhD in Physics from the University of Milan in 1998. He was a postdoctoral researcher at the CEA (Commissariat for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies) in Saclay from 1998 to 2000. His main research interests lie in quantum computation and information, quantum thermodynamics, and complex systems. He is the author or coauthor of over 180 publications in international scientific journals and of a textbook, Principles of Quantum Computation and Information (2004, 2nd edition 2019).

Giulio Casati, Professor Emeritus at the University of Insubria, graduated from Milan University and has been Research Associate at Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, and Full Professor of Theoretical Physics at Milan University, where in 1993 he became Dean of the Science Faculty. In 1998 he moved to the University of Insubria at Como. He has been distinguished visiting professor at the National University of Singapore from 2002 to 2011 and is currently distinguished visiting professor at the International Institute of Physics in Natal and Director of the Lake Como School of Advanced Studies. He is a member of the Akademia Europea and of the Academia Europea of Sciences and Arts. Among his main achievements are the discovery of quantum dynamical localization, the discovery of the thermal rectifier, thermal transistor and wave diode.

He has published over 300 papers and two volumes on the Principles of Quantum Information and Computation (World Scientific). He was awarded the 1991 Italian Francesco Somaini Physics Prize, the 2008 Enrico Fermi Prize and the 2010 International Physics Prize of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. In 2025 he has been appointed Honorary Member of the Academy 'Istituto Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere', an Italian Institute founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.

Simone Montangero is full Professor at University of Padova since 2017, where he directs the Quantum Computing and Simulation Center. Honorary Professor at Ulm University and co-leader of the Quantum Computing Spoke of the Italian National Center for HPC, Big-Data and Quantum Computer. Member of the Quantum Coordination Board of the EU-Quantum Flagship and of the Scientific Council of the National Metrology Institute of Italy - INRiM. IQOQI visiting fellow of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Science. He has been a Heisenberg Fellow of the German Science Foundation, and a Humboldt Fellow.

He authored about 200 scientific publications on quantum science and technologies, pioneering the development and application of quantum optimal control and of tensor network methods for quantum technologies and lattice gauge theories in one and more dimensions. He has participated as coordinator or as principal investigator in national and international collaborative research projects since 2013. He has collaborated with some of the world leading labs and theoretical groups developing quantum technologies (Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technologies, IQOQI, Max-Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Istitute d'Optique - Paris).